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Study Says San Francisco Leads North America in Sustainability

Compiled by the Waste Age editorial staff. | Jun 30, 2011

San Francisco is the most environmentally friendly city in North America, according to a study conducted by the Economist Intelligence Unit and commissioned by Siemens. The study examined 27 major U.S. and Canadian cities’ policies and environmental record in nine categories — air quality, buildings, carbon dioxide emissions, energy, environmental governance, land use, transport, water and waste — to produce the Green Cities Index.

San Francisco ranked first in the index, followed by Vancouver, New York, Seattle and Denver. San Francisco also ranked first in the waste category, followed by Seattle, Los Angeles and Toronto.

“The Green Cities Index demonstrates that America’s cities are the driving force behind the nation’s sustainability efforts,” said Eric Speigel, president and CEO of Siemens Corp., in a press release. “Despite the fact that we do not have a federal climate policy in the United States — and no federal carbon standard — 21 of the 27 cities in the index have already set their own carbon reduction targets. Cities are creating comprehensive sustainability plans, utilizing current technology and proving every day that we don’t have to wait to create a more sustainable future.”

“City budgets are as tight as they have ever been, but mayors are leading the charge around making their cities more sustainable because they know they can’t afford to push these decisions off until tomorrow,” added Alison Taylor, chief sustainability officer for the Americas for Siemens Corp., in the press release. “Our goal with the Green City Index is to identify best practices, advance good ideas and provide a baseline for cities to help them set targets for themselves so that they can serve as role models for others with their innovative practices.”